Battlefield 4 dev: we've passed the point where Frostbite 3 is impressive
Battlefield 4 developer Patrick Bach has stated that gamers are no longer impressive with raw showings of tech, as seen in the game's GDC reveal trailer. According to Bach, what's important now is how DICE uses that tech to further the payer's experience.
It's a funny thing, because I raised this very same concern yesterday, suggesting that shiny visuals are ace, but when the experience is the same old thing then that feels like a chance squandered.
Speaking with Eurogamer, Bach said of the matter, "Frostbite 3 grew out of where we were with the Frostbite 2 engine. Like Frostbite 2 was tailored to Battlefield 3, Frostbite 3 is now tailored to deliver Battlefield 4. We are the guinea pigs, pushing what is possible to do from a game engine perspective.
"We've come to a point where it's not important to talk about Frostbite that much. Frostbite is a tool. We have passed the point where we will impress people by talking about the technological wonders. What will impress people is the experience we'll get from the output from when you use the engine."
Bach added that Frostbite is like a car engine, where people ask how fast car goes, what it feels like to drive, rather than asking about the raw nuts and bolts inside. He conceded that yes, next-gen needs to be more than polygon counts and particle effects.
"There have been struggles, of course, with the whole mindset change. When you talk next-gen, we're not talking consoles, we're not talking technology any more, because most new technology is based on an evolution of old technology. It's more memory. It's more powerful GPUs. It's more powerful CPUs. But it's still the same technology at its core, and you can do more with it.
"Next-gen needs to be more than just more polygons. To us, it's like, how do we evolve the gameplay? How do we evolve the narrative? How do we evolve the things around the technology? How do we make it more Battlefield?
"So, moving elements from multiplayer into single-player is one way of evolving it. How do you get people to care about the characters, is also lifting the bar, rather than just doing the stereotypical stupid shooter, where you don't care about the missions or why you're doing what you're doing, and why do these guys around you even exist?"
Well said that man. What's your view? Let us know below.
Battlefield 4 is out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this Autumn.